MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD FROM L. K. WHITE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01284A001800060094-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 18, 2005
• Sequence Number: 94
• Publication Date: September 20, 1968
• Content Type: MFR

Approved Fo leaslt?61 p
20 September 1968
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
Morning Meeting of 20 September 1968
25X
Godfrey noted that William Beecher's article in today's New York
Times reporting that the desertion rate in the ARVN is at a record high
is largely accurate.
Carver observed that unearthed in a recent enemy cache in
Vietnam were three hundred sweat shirts with Mickey Mouse emblems
on them.
Maury reported that our cost-of-living bill passed the Senate
late yesterday.
Maury advised that Lee Williams, Senator Fulbright's Adminis-
trative Assistant, was contacted yesterday in connection with the case
of the Agency employee who has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship.
Maury indicated that briefings have been lined up for Senator
Ellender at his convenience.
'The Director noted the difficulty which an Agency employee is
having with the Internal Revenue Service and suggested to Houston that
it would be useful if OGC could render assistance in this and other such
cases before employees are compelled to utilize expensive private legal
assistance.
Approved For Releallj
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 Approved Fo e
*The Director noted I reporting political 25X1
turbulence in Burma and asked the DD P to wrap up the background
on this matter in a memorandum for Assistant Secretary Bundy.
*The Director asked the ADD/I to dispatch the memorandum pre-
pared for Walt Rostow on North Vietnamese strength in South Vietnam
to Under Secretary Katzenbach, Deputy Secretary Nitze, and General
Wheeler with a cover sheet noting that it is being forwarded pursuant
to a discussion at Thursday evening's meeting at the State Department.
*The Director inquired about what information we have about the
recent Pugwash Conference in Nice and upon being met with blank stares
asked the Deputies to look into the matter and specifically asked the
DD/S&T to consult with Spurgeon Keeny, who is looking into the Con-
ference for the White House.
*The Director asked the DD/S&T to ensure that the follow-through
paper on what is required to convert the SA-5 into an ABM system is
finished by next week.
*DDCI led a discussion on the issue of whether it is not anachro-
nistic to continue the order of Soviet Estimates in such a manner that
the Estimate on main trends in Soviet military policy precedes rather
than follows upon the individual Estimates dealing with specific military
issues. The Director asked to ensure that ONE utilizes the
period of transition of Administrations to review this matter as well as
other Estimates for possible alterations in scheduling and approaches.
Goodwin noted press reports of the sale of Senator Robert
Kennedy's personal memoir on the Cuban missile crisis to McCall's
magazine. The Director asked the ADD/I to ready appropriate Agency
materials concerning the Cuban missile crisis for whatever use might
be required by the publishing of the memoir.
Goodwin noted that Bernard Gwertzman, recently of the Washington
Star, has been hired by the New York Times to man its Moscow Bureau.
Approved For Relea g Q06 Q, ,/ .i CIA1
 Saithetnamese
'Deserting theArmy
At Increased Rate
By. WILLIAM BEECHER
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19-
The Defense Department is con-1
cerried about' a sharp increase]
in desertions. from the. ? South
Vietnamese armed forces.
After, a decline from. 1966
to 1967, tie' number has risen)
in the first six months of this
The Pentagon . recently', di-
ected the American mission in
aigon to give priority to help-
ing the Vietnamese reverse
his trend.
However, Pentagon officials
nsisted the surge did not ap-
ear to represent a widespread
rosion of morale.or a general
disinclination by Vietnamese
fighting men to play an, in-
creasingly heavy role in com-
bat.
Two Factors Seen
Instead, they believe it stems
from two factors that they say
should not recur:,
First, a nationwide mobiliza-
tion 'threw 224,000 new, re-
cruits into already crowded
training ' facilities this year.
This resulted in a deteriora-
tion of training and particularly
political orientation. '
Second, the enemy offensive
in February came at a time
when about half the Viet-
namese Army was home on re-
ligious holiday. Some stayed
home to protect their families;
others joined nearby military
units and have never rejoined
their original outfits.
"Every indicator in the field
I
shows higher morale since the
February offensive," a colonel
just back from Vietnam said.
uoo
IN VIETNAM ARMY
Continued From Page 1, Col. 4
"The Vietnamese proved to
themselves they were good
fighting men at that time;
they've been much more ag?
gressive ever since."
'Do a Lot of Work Twice
But, a Defense Department
official commented that "rising
desertions represent an open
wound draining strength when
we're increasing strength." He
added, "We're having to do a
lot of work twice because of
it."
Pentagon experts noted that
desertions have been a much
greater problem in the Viet-
namese armed forces than in
the United States forces.
In 1965 a total of 110,000
Vietnamese were listed as de-
serters. The number rose to
115,000 in 1966 but dropped to
80,000 last year, despite a
larger total force.
During the first half of this
year the number was over
50,000 compared with 40,000
for the first six months of last
year. The rate of desertions
was 6.5 per cent of total
strength for the first half ofd
1967, compared with about 8
per cent for the comparable
period this year.
American officials and mili-
tary leaders in Saigon are
counseling the Vietnamese to
take a fresh look and to try
to improve conditions of mili-
tary life.
Pay Has Increased
Pay for privates, for example,
has been increased 300 per
cent since 1965, but still is
said to be fairly low for a
man with a family to support.
Consideration is being given to
another round of increases the
first of the year.
The Vietnamese are being
urged to improve and extend
recruit training with special
emphasis on political motiva-
tion.
More attention is being urged
for a program to build housing
for 4,400 families of regular
army troops near their mili-
tary camps. Consideration is
being given to expanding the
program if the start goes well.
One of the underlying prob-
lems, Pentagon specialists say,
is that desertion has never
been regarded as a particularly
serious crime in Vietnamese
society. At harvest time, It is
not unusual for soldiers to slip
home to help bring in the crop.
Others simply get lonely for
their families and, when failing
to get leave, go anyway. Others
have been known to leave one
unit and join another because
they did not like their officers.
In 1966 stiff penalties were
imposed for desertion. Those
found and convicted can be
sentenced to five or more years
hard labor in hazardous areas
with military engineering units.
aDPsWom2 c UPO
to find and puns ese er
and to persuade the public that
desertion is a serious offense.